Keeping Up With Kyev Tatum: A Journey with Jesus—From Trials to Triumph, From the City Streets to the Church Seats to the City Suites.

Keeping Up With Kyev Tatum: A Journey with Jesus—From Trials to Triumph, From the City Streets to the Church Seats to the City Suites.

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - From California to New York City, from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands to Washington, D.C., Kyev Tatum has been on a divine journey with Jesus—walking in faith, serving with purpose, and striving to help save the world one soul, one city, one cause at a time. This is his story—a living testimony of trials, triumphs, and the transformative power of God’s glory.

Born with the spirit of a servant and the fire of a freedom fighter, Kyev P. Tatum, Sr. has spent more than four decades advocating for justice, equity, and empowerment across America. A native son of Texas, his journey has taken him from the gridiron of Tarleton State University to the pulpit of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth, where he now serves as Senior Pastor. His path has always been rooted in deep faith and fierce advocacy for the least, the last, the lost, and the left out.

A civil rights leader, pastor, educator, and visionary, Tatum is the president of the Ministers Justice Coalition of Texas, a statewide network of faith leaders confronting racial injustice and systemic inequality. His organizing efforts stretch from street corners to state capitols, from city hall chambers to the halls of Congress. He has helped register thousands of voters, fought for fair housing and food justice, and launched transformative initiatives like Farm Fort Worth, The Texas 6888th Project, and the Inner City Coffee Exchange—all aimed at rebuilding communities with dignity, opportunity, and sustainability.

As a college student, Kyev served as student assistant to university president Dr. Barry B. Thompson at Tarleton State University. His academic and activist journey continued at the University of North Texas and Texas State University, laying the groundwork for his leadership across educational, political, and spiritual landscapes.

When the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kyev stepped up. He launched Coffeeaires and authored From Bean to Bank: A Blueprint to Brewing a Better Economy for the Inner City, using specialty coffee as a tool for economic empowerment. In collaboration with the Texas A&M University Center for Coffee Research and Education and the U.S. Small Business Administration, he helped create international bridges of hope for historically underserved communities.

Tatum is also a passionate curator of untold Black Texas history. He is the author of Fighting Black in Texas: An Anthology of Black Texans Who Resisted Racial Injustice from 1868 to the Present, and a cultural storyteller who brings to light the lives and legacies of those often forgotten—from the Slocum Massacre to the Queen of Sepia Magazine, from gospel legend Francine Reese Morrison to June Kelly, the first Miss Black Teen America in 1972.

Kyev’s journey has been marked by holy boldness. Whether standing on the steps of the Capitol, leading prayer vigils at crime scenes, or preaching in the heart of Fort Worth’s 76104—the ZIP code with the lowest life expectancy in Texas—he speaks truth to power with a shepherd’s heart and a prophet’s voice.

His life and work are a living embodiment of the biblical principle that faith without works is dead. Every project, every protest, every sermon and every speech is rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the call to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

A devoted husband, father, grandfather, and community elder, Kyev Tatum lives what he preaches. His ministry reaches beyond the church walls—it thrives in the fields of Farm Fort Worth, in the laughter at the MLK Hunger Bowl, in the hope found at the Youth Coffee Expo, and in the resurrection of Black legacy through scholarship and storytelling.

Through every season—struggle or success—Pastor Tatum has remained faithful to the call: to serve God by serving His people. His life is a canvas of grace, painted with brushstrokes of divine purpose. From coast to coast, from island to capital, from pulpit to pavement—this is Kyev Tatum’s journey.

This is God’s glory.

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